Good morning! It is Wednesday, April 10, 2024, and this is The morning shift, your daily roundup of the biggest automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.
1st Gear: Boeing whistleblower claims it cut corners
American aircraft manufacturer Boeing is currently in crisis after a series of high-profile problems with its aircraft. In the last few months alone, airplanes have done this lost landing gearS, Door panels andJust this week, a Boeing plane was forced to land after an engine cover came loose. Now the company is facing allegations that it ignored safety concerns in its production process.
The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation into allegations that Boeing “Dismissed safety and quality concerns” raised by a company whistleblower, reports Reuters. According to the website:
The allegations by Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour stem from work on the company’s 787 and 777 wide-body aircraft. He said he faced retaliation including threats and exclusion from meetings after identifying technical problems that compromised the jets’ structural integrity and claimed Boeing used shortcuts to reduce bottlenecks during 787 assembly, his lawyers said.
Boeing halted deliveries of the 787 widebody jetliner for more than a year until August 2022 as the FAA investigated quality issues and manufacturing defects.
The Seattle based company has denied the claims and issued a statement to Reuters saying it was “completely confident in the 787 Dreamliner,” the news agency reports. The company added that the allegations “do not reflect the comprehensive work Boeing has done to ensure the quality and long-term safety of the aircraft.”
At its introduction The 787 Dreamliner plane had problems Short circuits occur in the batteries used in aircraft. However, Boeing’s recent problems are due to this Next generation 737 fleet.
2nd Gear: Price cuts save Lucid’s sales
It’s a difficult time for an electric vehicle startup with pioneers like Tesla is struggling to maintain momentum and demand from established car manufacturers is not quite in line with forecasts. For EV manufacturer LucidThe answer to avoid these problems was simple: reduce prices.
According to the Californian company’s latest sales figures, volumes rose 40 percent in the first quarter of 2024. Reports Automotive News. The increase in sales was partly due to extensive price reductions as part of a Price war for electric vehicles that was started by Tesla. As Automotive News Reports:
Lucid Motors said first-quarter deliveries rose 40 percent to 1,967 Air sedans compared to the same period last year, after the company dramatically cut prices and relaxed its leases in mid-February.
The Newark, California-based startup said Tuesday that it produced 1,728 Airs in the quarter ended March 31 at its factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, and a secondary assembly facility in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.
Not only did sales increase compared to the first quarter of 2023, Lucid also saw a 13 percent increase over sales in the fourth quarter of 2023. During that time, an entry-level Air Pure started at $82,400 Lucid initially lowered its prices last summer. When the year 2024 was over, the price fell again and by the first quarter, a base Air would set you back $79,400.
Lucid currently only offers one model for sale in markets such as the US and Saudi Arabia. However, the company has plans to do so launches its new Gravity SUVwhich it is hoped will help “unlock a much larger market for the automaker,” it says Automotive News.
3rd gear: Rimac makes BMW batteries
In other EV news: German powerhouse BMW has announced a partnership with Croatian supercar manufacturer Rimac to help develop battery technology for its latest electric models. The unlikely duo will be Rimac’s “biggest and most ambitious” collaboration, according to the brand.
As part of the partnership, Rimac will supply batteries for BMW’s next-generation electric cars. reports the British outlet Autocar. Further details of the two companies’ partnership will be announced in due course, but it sounds like it could bring big changes Rimac’s home in Croatia. As Autocar Reports:
No financial terms of the deal were disclosed and neither company has provided details on the quantities in which Rimac will supply batteries.
However, Rimac said the deal required the company to equip its battery factory with new “sophisticated automated production lines.”
“A significant portion” of the Rimac Campus near Zagreb will be dedicated to the development and delivery of BMW’s new battery packs, underlining “the company’s commitment” to its partnership with BMW.
Currently, BMW sources its battery packs from five locations around the world, and the automaker has already done so Plans for new battery systems in China, Hungary, Mexico and here in the USA. The new cells that will be assembled in these factories will be “unique to BMW,” according to the statement Autocarso it remains a mystery what technology Rimac could bring among the company’s latest and greatest electric vehicles.
4th Gear: Ferrari wants to know more about the batteries it won’t make
On the subject of batteries, Ferrari wades deeper and deeper into the battery game. The famous Italian super sports car manufacturer has announced plans to invest a lot of money in its own battery expertise, but apparently does not want to start producing electric vehicle cells.
Accordingly a new report from ReutersFerrari is expanding its expertise in battery technology, essential for its own electric vehicles. However, the company has no production plans these cells themselves. As Reuters explains:
“We want to open cells and understand what’s inside” [CEO Benedetto] Vigna said this at the opening of a research center for battery cells in collaboration with the Italian University of Bologna and the chip manufacturer NXP Semiconductors.
“Production will always be through external manufacturers based on the know-how we want to acquire through this research center,” Vigna said during a presentation.
“We cannot afford to use cells as black boxes,” he added.
Instead of investing in battery manufacturing facilities, the Italian company is instead backing a new E-Cells Lab that will “focus on electrochemistry,” according to Reuters. The new lab will look to expand Ferrari’s battery cell expertise to get to grips with it Achieve maximum performance from the cells it sources from external manufacturers.